Missing Minnesota Man Found in Vernon County

VERNON COUNTY, WI (Ben Caxton) — A missing elderly Minnesota man has been found in Vernon County. The Vernon County Sheriff’s Department says they received a call around 10:15 PM Tuesday from a passerby reporting that they had come upon a vehicle parked along State Highway 131 near Bridge 7 south of Hay Valley Road in Whitestown. The caller was concerned because the elderly male driver seemed confused and was not responsive to them when they knocked on the window. The man was later identified as 75-year-old Dennis Mead of Milaca, Minnesota, who had been listed as missing. Mead suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and had not been seen since he left home in Minnesota around 10:30 AM Tuesday morning. It appears Mead had driven about 450 miles before running out of gas in Vernon County. He was taken to Vernon Memorial Hospital in Viroqua for evaluation and eventually reunited with his family and taken home to Minnesota.